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Nkiru Odinkemelu
With the newborn mortality rate of 29 deaths per 1,000 births, the United Nations International Children Education Fund (UNICEF) has ranked Nigeria as the 11th highest on newborn deaths.
In the report, the UNICEF revealed that global deaths of newborn babies remain alarmingly high, particularly among the world’s poorest countries.
The world body said eight of the 10 most dangerous places to be born are in sub-Saharan Africa, where pregnant women are much less likely to receive assistance during delivery due to poverty, conflict and weak institutions.
Every year, 2.6 million newborns around the world do not survive their first month of life. One million of them die the day they are born.
“Globally, in low-income countries, the average newborn mortality rate is 27 deaths per 1,000 births, while in high-income countries, that rate is 3 deaths per 1,000,” said the report.
This is corroborated by the recent Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) conducted by Nigeria in 2016/17, which puts the rate of newborn deaths per 1000 births at 37.
It said: “While we have more than halved the number of deaths among children under the age of five in the last quarter century, we have not made similar progress in ending deaths among children less than one month old. Given that the majority of these deaths are preventable, clearly, we are failing the world’s poorest babies,” said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF’s Executive Director.
With this MICS data, UNICEF agreed that the situation in Nigeria is improving but noted that progress was very slow.
“MICS data tells us that the trend is improving but urgent action needs to be taken for Nigeria to reach the Sustainable Development Goals. It cannot afford to fail its newborns today.
“A fair chance in life begins with a strong, healthy start. Unfortunately, many children in Nigeria are still deprived of this,” said Mohamed Fall, UNICEF Nigeria’s Representative.
The apex organisation noted that more than 80 per cent of newborn deaths are due to prematurity, asphyxia, complications during birth or infections such as pneumonia and sepsis. Pointing out that these deaths can be prevented with access to well-trained midwives during antenatal and postnatal visits as well as delivery at a health facility, along with proven solutions like clean water, disinfectants, breastfeeding within the first hour, skin-to-skin contact, proper cord care, and good nutrition.
However, a shortage of well-trained health workers and midwives means that thousands do not receive the life-saving support they need to survive.
To find a lasting solution to newborn mortality, UNICEF will be launching “Every Child ALIVE,” a global campaign to demand and deliver solutions on behalf of the world’s newborns this month.
Through the campaign, UNICEF said it will be issuing an urgent appeal to governments, health care providers, donors, the private sector, families and businesses to keep every child alive by recruiting, training, retaining and managing sufficient numbers of doctors, nurses and midwives with expertise in maternal and newborn care.
